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My mom would go nuts over squash blossoms. I think that we grew zucchini in our little garden when I was growning up, just so that we could make stuffed zucchini flowers all (mid)summer long. And as an adult, when my mom would come visit me in the summertime, she would always bring a basket full of blossoms for us to stuff and fry .... her favorite activity and her favorite way to eat them.

Every time I see a squash blossom, it reminds me of my mom. One time I remember going out to dinner with her, she was so excited that they had zucchini blossoms on the menu that she ordered the stuffed zucchini blossom appetizer as both her starter AND her main course. She loved them that much. You can tell where my love and enthusiasm for vegetables, especially the special ones, comes from.

My FAVORITE delicacy of summer are squash blossoms. For me, squash blossoms are to summer what ramps are to spring. You will never find them out of season because they are delicate and highly perishable. You cannot freeze a squash blossom, and thankfully there are no gmo-versions that make them last a million years on a shelf. You use them right away or you lose them. And once the zucchini peaks, the squash blossoms are no more (and a big sad face because we are on the other side of summer .... the side that makes me scared that the weather will be cooler soon).

Recently I posted a pic on my instagram of some squash blossoms and asked you what to make. I got lots and lots of "stuff them with cheese and fry them", which is undoubtedly delicious. But, this time around, I was looking for something different. A little healthier, but something that would still be just as delicious and something that still felt like an indulgent treat. A lovely person suggested stuffing them with rice, which is how they are typically prepared in Greece.............Yes. That was it. Some rice, some pesto, bake them in the oven. Done and delicious ..... my new favorite squash blossom preparation.

This recipe might make a little extra pesto and/or rice, but that is hardly a bad thing. I used the extras in a salad for lunch but you can also save them for when you find or harvest more blossoms. Also, I made this cashew cream unintentionally without a recipe ... and didn't realize how good it would go with these blossoms, but they were delicious together. I found a recipe that was very close to what I made ----> HERE.

Cook the rice according to your personal method, or instruction on the package.

For the pesto, start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath and have it waiting next to the boiling water. Add the kale to the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the kale from the boiling water and add it to the ice bath. Leave it in the ice bath for 1-2 minutes, then strain and squeeze the kale to get rid of any excess moisture.

Place all of the ingredients for the pesto, except for the olive oil in a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is chopped. Then add in the olive oil in a slow stream until it is emulsified.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of the pesto to the cooked rice, and stir to combine. Taste and feel free to add as much or as little pesto as you like to the rice. When your rice has the amount of pesto that you like, store any unused pesto (if there is any) in an air-tight container in the fridge for another use.

Prepare + stuff + bake the blossoms:

Pre-heat the oven to 350º.

Be sure you've removed the pistol by reaching inside the blossom and snapping it off.

Gently spread open the petals. Then, using a small teaspoon, take a spoonful of the rice and carefully stuff the blossom. Twist the tops so they stay closed and lay the stuffed blossom onto a baking sheet. Do this until all of your blossoms are stuffed. You might have extra rice which you can enjoy on it's own, or save to stuff more blossoms with.

Brush the tops of the blossoms with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and the bread crumbs (if you're using).

Sometime I make recipes on this blog for you, sometimes I make recipes on this blog for me .... so I can remember my favorite meals that I randomly threw together and worked really well. One night recently, Michael and I didn't have a lot of time to cook, but wanted something home-cooked, healthy, and spicy. We picked up a piece of fish, went home and sliced up some leeks, jalapeños, garlic, and tomatoes, sautéed them and then added some coconut milk along with the fish which I quickly marinated in some lime, and 10 minutes later we were sipping on a super tasty, spicy, brothy, fish stew that was so flavorful and so satisfying. It immediately became my new favorite meal.

In order for a meal to become my favorite, it has to check off a few different boxes. It needs to have a fancy factor, meaning it would be great enough to serve at a dinner party. It has to be easy. It has to be made in under 30-40 minutes. It has to use only a few ingredients, most of which are veggies or pantry staples. And last but never least, it has to be healthy. This meal checks off all those boxes and then some ..... because it is super flexible. You can mix up the veggies for what is seasonal, and it can also be made vegan by switching out fish for cauliflower.

I've made this recipe a handful of times since that night, including one night where I cooked it for 14 people (when I had an impromptu dinner party with nothing prepared). This meal was a savior that night. I've also made it for just myself on a quiet monday night. It's that kind of recipe that can easily be doubled, tripled .... or made just for one. But I recommend making it for two (you and your lover or bestie) and eating it alfresco with a candle, a bottle of wine, and some easy conversation.

spicy coconut lime fish stew

I give the option of using full-fat or light coconut milk here. The light will make the broth lighter, but will have less of a coconut flavor. If you want a strong coconut favor, go for the full-fat. It's the good kind of fat for your anyway ;) Feel free to sub cauliflower for the fish if you want to make this vegan, I would use 1 head of cauliflower and cook it for 15 minutes instead of 10 (until the cauliflower is fork tender). Enjoy!

Cut the fish filets into 1" cubes. Place in a non-reactive bowl with the lime juice. Set aside in the fridge until you're ready to add it to the stew.

** If you're making rice or quinoa, this would be a good time to get it started.

Sauté the veggies / prepare the stew:

In a large, heavy bottom pot over medium-low heat, add some olive oil (enough to lightly coat the bottom) then add the leeks and jalapeño. Statue for a few minutes until they are soft (but be careful not to brown). Then add the garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes. Lastly, add the tomatoes, and season with salt.

Add in the fish with the lime juice, the coconut milk, and add some water (the same amount as the coconut milk, so you can just fill up the empty coconut milk can). Give it a stir, and taste to see if you want to add more spice (cayenne). Add a little at a time until you get the spiciness you want.

Bring to a boil, cover, and lower to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

Assemble + serve:

Ladle the stew into bowls, and add in the rice or quinoa (if using). Finish with some herbs and micrograms.

If serving this on a hot summer day, you can let the stew cool down a little. It's find (and delish) to serve at room temperature, and also is good leftover the next day.

Since my last post, I needed to do some things to fill my soul up a little bit. So I made some (crazy-healthy-delicious) ice cream sandwiches, ate them, and then hopped on a plane to a far off place. The latter was much less spontaneous, however, the timing could not have been better. After a couple weeks of mourning, reflecting, and crying my eyes out, there was not better feeling than landing in Iceland. A place that I have been wanting to explore since I was a kid and learned about vikings, and a place that was so drastically different from my everyday life.

And now that this leg of my trip is coming to an end, I can easily say that Iceland is one of the coolest place on earth. Hands down. No words or pictures can describe the feeling of standing in front of a glacier, or being dwarfed by a misshapen mountains that sit up against black sand beaches. Or soaking in a hot spring or lagoon, where you can almost feel every little trouble getting pulled out of your body. It's dreamy and magical and so very good for the soul.

Before I left, I spent some time in the kitchen, because just as much as traveling is food for my soul ..... so is being in my kitchen getting my hands and dishes dirty. I felt like making something sweet, and since summer is basically here, I wanted a treat I could make as a snack or dessert all summer long. I remembered a little while ago, Laura (The First Mess), make a version of Sara's (My New Roots) banana ice cream from her new book (My New Roots). I've always wanted to try making a banana-based ice cream, and I had just purchased Sarah's new book ....... I knew her recipe would not disappoint.

In searching for the banana ice cream recipe in the book, I came across some ice cream sandwiches. Yay! That was it. These ice cream sandwiches are completely inspired by Sarah's, but I put my own twist on the cookie part. She has this genius way of making the cookies by melting almond butter and freezing it, however, her version adds chocolate (which sounds delish as well) but I was craving straight up almond butter, so that's what I did. Almond butter, bananas, honey, salt, and crunchy cacao bits, are all meant to be. You can never go wrong. Put it all into an ice cream sandwich and this might be my new favorite summertime snack / dessert. The best part is, there is negative guilt ..... so little guilt, you could eat these for breakfast. Oh, and another bonus, they are so easy to make and do not require an ice cream maker (!!!) Healthy, decadent food that is easy to make is good for both of our souls.

This recipe is inspired by and adapted from the ice cream sandwich recipe in Sarah B.'s book, My New Roots. These sandwiches are actually very very easy to make, and do not require an ice cream maker. It just takes a little pre-planning, but you can also make them up to a month in advance.

MAKESabout 4-6 sandwiches (and will likely leave you with some extra banana ice cream, which you can enjoy on it's own)

INGREDIENTS

for the cookies:3 tablespoons of almond butter 2 tablespoons of coconut oil2 tablespoons of honey 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt(** feel free to double this recipe, if you want more sandwiches. There should be more than enough ice cream for that)

for the cacao crunch:1/4 cup of cacao nibs1/4 cup of a nut of your choice (almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts work well)1/4 cup of toasted coconut (optional, but I used the salted dang chips and it was delish)

METHOD

The night before – prep by freezing and soaking:

The night before you want to make / enjoy the ice cream sandwiches, freeze the bananas, and soak the cashews. Soak the cashew in water, overnight. Peel and slice the banana and place it in a bag, container, or a sheet pan with some wax paper and allow them to freeze overnight.***FYI - for the cashews, soak no longer than overnight, and no shorter than 3 hours.

A few hours before you want to enjoy the sandwiches, make the cookies. This can also be done a few days (or up to a month) in advance:

Line a large baking sheet (or two small) with wax paper.

Place the almond butter, coconut oil, honey, and salt into a small saucepan. Heat up over medium-low heat, while watching and stirring. Heat just until everything is melted and mixed together. Remove from the heat.

Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture out onto the baking sheet, one tablespoon per cookie. Make sure to leave a little room between each cookie.

When done, place the baking sheets in the freezer, and freeze for a couple of hours until the cookies are solid. Once frozen, you can also transfer them to an air-tight container and freeze for up to one month.

The morning (or at least 5 hours) before you want to enjoy the sandwiches, start to make the banana ice cream:

Remove the bananas about 10 minutes before you blend the ice cream, while you prep everything else. Drain the cashews, if you haven’t done so already.

Combine the cashews, water, and coconut milk in a high-powered blender, and blend on high for a few minutes until very smooth.

Add the vanilla, bananas, salt, maple syrup, coconut oil, and lemon juice, and blend on high until very smooth. Taste and adjust and seasoning or sweetness accordingly.

Transfer to a glass, or a metal ice cream container (does not need to be specific to ice cream, either – I found a glass container worked just fine). Freeze for a minimum of 4 hours, but can also be frozen for up to a month, just be sure to make sure it’s an air-tight container.

Assemble the ice cream sandwiches:

Quick FYI - you want to work quickly here, and handle the cookies minimally because they melt (not quick enough for you to enjoy the sandwich, but quick enough to get sticky and slightly mis-shapen when assembling).

First, take the ice cream out about 10 minutes before assembling so it has time to soften.

While thats defrosting a little, make the cacao crunch. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse several times until you have a crumble. Do not over-process.

Place the crunch onto a small plate, and have a wax paper lined baking sheet near by. Start to assemble the sandwiches by placing a scoop of the ice cream into one piece of cookie. Place the second piece on top and press down to spread the ice cream evenly out to the ends of the cookie. I would take a butter knife around the cookie/ice cream to give it a smooth edge. Then, roll the end with the ice cream in the cacao crunch mixture. Place onto the baking sheet and do this until all of the sandwiches are assembled.

Some tips ...... if this is taking too long and things start to get melt-y, pop the cookies / ice cream back into the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. You can also keep the wax paper lined baking sheet in the freezer and place the sandwiches directly into the frezer after you're done assembling.

Let the assembled sandwiches sit in the freezer for about another 10 minutes before enjoying (if enjoying immediately) or keep them in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to one month.

We lost my mother this past weekend, and I lost a huge piece of my heart. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share such sad and personal news here, but it also didn't feel right not to share. My mother was my biggest supporter, in everything, but especially with my career in food. She gave me my love for food, and my passion for living life. My mom was a nurse who worked incredibly hard, and always somehow managed to put a delicious home cooked meal on the table for us every single night. She was so proud to have taught me so much about cooking, a fact she liked to brag about to everyone. She was the one to give me my first le cruset, and my favorite knife. She was the first (and for a while, the only) person commenting on my blog. She loved every single thing I cooked for her .... the good and the not so good. When I was sick, she made me rice pudding, and when I wanted a treat, she would make me stuffed artichokes. She was a funny lady, and anyone who knew her knew how much she loved to laugh. Her laugh filled the room. She was the first person who I called when I was bored or sad or had good news or just wanted someone to talk to. She loveeed to talk. My heart is completely broken, but if I could talk to her today, she would tell me "it's okay honey, you're gonna be okay again one day." She gave me her incredible strength, and for that I will pick myself up and move forward, but I will keep her with me forever.

Dedicating this recipe and all my recipes to my mom, my best friend.

These are not your average butter, white flour, egg, pancakes. These are crazy, fun, adult, adventurous pancakes. While all three components to these pancakes work well on their own, together they take breakfast (or brunch) to a whole other level. The buckwheat gives an earthy taste to the pancakes, and the poppy seeds give them a little crunch. The strawberry salsa and the balsamic maple syrup are what's really special and delicious here, mingling somewhere in the middle between sweet and savory, just how I like it.

for the balsamic maple syrup:1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar1/4 cup of maple syrup

METHOD

First, make the strawberry salsa:

Comine all of the ingredients for the salsa in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until you're ready to serve.

Then, prepare the pancake batter and cook them:

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

Then, in a blender or food processor, blend the milk, banana, olive oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add it to the dry mixture, along with the egg, and stir to combine everything.

Prepare the pan for cooking by melting some butter, coconut oil, or olive oil in a large cast iron over medium heat. When the pan is good and hot, spoon the batter in (I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup, this gives me the perfect sized pancakes). I don't like to crowd the pan, so I do two at a time. After about 3 mins, flip and cook the other side for about three minutes. If you want to keep them warm while you finish cooking the rest, place them on a baking sheet and keep them in a 200º oven.

While you're cooking the pancakes, make the balsamic maple syrup as well:

In a small pan, add the vinegar and maple syrup and heat over medium heat. Whisk occasionally, and cook for about 5 minutes until it has reduced slightly and thickened slightly.

Assemble and serve:

To serve, stack 3-4 pancakes (or as many or as little as you like), top with the salsa and finish with a drizzle of the balsamic maple syrup.

My best meals come from when I have a bunch of leftover bits in my fridge and I have to make something out of them. I bet you would say the same thing. My favorite meals are bowls of food that contain a balance of grains, greens, veggies, legumes, doused in a delicious dressing. Bowls of food made form leftover bits in the fridge is my kind of real, everyday food.

More and more I am making a conscience effort to collect the odd parts of the vegetables that you might otherwise discard. You know, the stems or leaves that often get chopped off and forgotten about. Since there has been an abundance of swiss chard in the markets right now, I'm finding myself buying them for their vibrant colored stems, instead of for their leaves, since they make such a tasty treat when they are roasted and sautéed. Maybe you've been doing this all along since your mom and grandma used to do it, or maybe you've been throwing them away. Either way, I hope you save your stems, sauté them with some garlic and olive oil and add them to a bowl of grains and other goodies.

In addition to those pretty chard stems, lots of extra inspiration went into this humble bowl of veggies. Sarah's (Sprouted Kitchen) newest book: Bowl + Spoon, hardly needs an introduction or an endorsement since she is she such a superstar who consistently produces excellent recipes, words, and photographs. Her latest book has has inspired many of my recent meals at home, especially when it's just me or me and Michael on a weeknight. The Bowl + Spoon concept is simple, lovely, and pure genuius. Bowl food is the best food, and should be celebrated. This green harissa that she shares in the book should also be celebrated. I have made it about 15 times in the past few weeks, I cannot stop pouring it over anything and everything, and anyone that I have made it for is obsessed. She serves it in the book with eggs, potatoes, and asparagus. This bowl I am sharing today is not too dissimilar, but I promise you that there is not much that this sauce would not compliment.

This bowl was also inspired by some trays of microgreens that were given to me last week by lovely Brendan of Good Waters Farm. His microgreens are a staple in my shopping cart, so I thought it was so kind of him to give me some trays to play around with. I have been expeiementing with different ways to use the microgreens ..... pesto is always a win, throwing it into your smoothie is also a great way to use up those last bits that you might have left (you know, before they go bad), but the most obvious way is also the best way to use these special mini greens, which is sprinkled over a salad (or ANY dish). It gives a pop of flavor, and makes your food look so much more elegant.

I've been eating grain bowls since wayyyyyyyy before grains bowl became "a thing" on the internet. Although, I never gave them such a sophisticated name, they were always my: let's-see-what-I-have-in-the-fridge-to-make-an-edible-and-nutirious-lunch .... bowl. They make for the best lunches and the most complete meal. In this grain bowl, I decided to make the sprouts the co-star with the grains, since I had a variety at my fingertips. There are no strict rules to using the microgreens, I like to throw it all in and get surprised by he different pops of flavor. If fact, there are no strict rules when it come to throwing together a grain bowl, just maybe a few bendable guidelines. For my grain bowl, I usually like to have a grain, a bean, some greens such a kale or arugula, microgreens, some sautéed veggies, and every once in a while a fried or poached egg on top. But of course, all of this can sway depending on what's in my fridge, what I have prepared already, and what kinda mood I am in that day. You know this drill.

guidelines for the grain bowl:about 1 cup of cooked grain such a quinoa, millet, farrow, barley, spelt, etc etc. about 1 cup of cooked beans such as navy, pinto, black, cannellini, kidney. about 2 large handful of greens such as kale, chard, spinach, arugula (or a mix)Several pinches of microgreens. I like to use a combination of a few such as sunflower, watercress, sorrel, wasabi, basil, arugula, etc. Any other garnishes that you like such as nuts + seeds. I also sometimes like to add a fried or poached egg on top.

METHOD:

Make the harissa:

Add the garlic, parsley, cilantro, mint, chili, lemon, cumin, and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Then, while the food processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil until everything is combined. Set aside until you're ready to assemble.

Sauté the chard:

Heat some olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the chard stems and sauté for about 7-10 minutes until they are good and tender. Season with salt and pepper, add in the garlic, and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until you're ready to assemble the bowls.

To assemble the bows:

Again, this is more of a guide, but this is what I like to do. First, in a large bowl, add a couple of spoonfuls of the harissa to the grain, and toss to coat evenly, then add in the beans, and toss, and lastly add in the greens and toss. You might want to add a little more harissa at this point too. Then divided the grain salad evenly amongst the bowls, divided the sautéed chard as well, and garnish as you please with some microgreens, nuts, seeds, and the egg if you like. Serve any additional harissa on the side (this will also keep for a few days, in an air-tight container in the fridge).